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University–Local Government–Enterprise “Marriage”: Win-Win Collaboration among Industry, Academia, and Research, with Collaborative Innovation Building a Powerful Engine for Jiangyin’s Development

2025-10-29

Source: Publicity Department of the Jiangyin Municipal Committee

We are currently in the flood season, with an increasing frequency of heavy rainfall. On the “Urban Life” module of the “Zui Jiangyin” app, a microwave rain-measurement platform allows citizens to monitor rainfall conditions in real time, making it easier to plan their travel. This platform was developed by Jiangyin-based Jiangsu Weizhirun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. Leveraging microwave rain-measurement data, Weizhirun has also partnered with Xuzhou Institute of Engineering to create a water and drought disaster prevention platform, providing data support and decision-making assistance for Jiangyin’s flood-control efforts. According to Xu Xiaojun, head of the company’s R&D department, the platform took three years to develop and enables real-time monitoring of rainfall and road flooding across Jiangyin. “With algorithmic support, real-time rainfall distribution can be refined down to the village (community) level, facilitating precise notifications to grid workers so they can carry out emergency flood-prevention preparations.”

Industry–university–research collaboration serves as a “booster” for corporate innovation and development, as well as an important pathway for enhancing regional innovation capacity. According to reports, the water and drought disaster prevention platform developed by Weizhirun in partnership with universities has been selected for the “Xiake’s Light” Innovation Challenge Program. “This recognition of our R&D efforts is also a powerful incentive for our company to continue innovating,” Xu Xiaojun told reporters. Over the years, Weizhirun has collaborated with research institutions such as the School of Meteorology and Oceanography at the National University of Defense Technology and the School of Atmospheric Sciences at Nanjing University, achieving precise alignment between the company’s technological needs and the scientific research outcomes of these institutions.

According to the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, since 2021 Jiangyin has launched the “Xiake’s Light” Innovation Challenge Program, which has so far approved a total of 50 projects with individual funding caps of up to RMB 10 million. In recent years, by leveraging government platforms, empowering universities, and fostering collaborative efforts among enterprises, Jiangyin has continuously refined the “Xiake’s Light” challenge-and-reward mechanism. To date, more than 500 enterprise technology needs have been publicly announced, and over RMB 41 million in government grants and subsidies have leveraged an additional RMB 900 million in corporate R&D investment, thereby promoting a model in which industries pose the challenges, universities and research institutions provide the solutions, and both academia and industry achieve mutual benefit. Jiangsu Xindao Ge Automation Technology Co., Ltd. has partnered with Hohai University to develop a digital-twin-based online equipment monitoring and health management system, addressing the shortcomings of existing industrial equipment operation monitoring and fault diagnosis practices, including opaque operational processes, unintelligent fault diagnosis, delayed fault feedback, and the inability to predict equipment service life. Jiangyin Nali New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. has jointly developed a novel composite current-collecting foil coating process with Changzhou University, which enhances product quality while reducing production costs and improving manufacturing efficiency.

A “marriage” of universities, local governments, and enterprises fosters win-win outcomes in industry–university–research collaboration. To ensure that technological innovation better aligns with the needs of industrial development, Jiangyin has continuously refined and strengthened mechanisms for the transfer and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements. To date, it has established 10 branch centers of technology-transfer hubs at institutions such as Nanjing University of Science and Technology and Jiangnan University, launched the “Hundred Enterprises, Hundred Partnerships” initiative, and implements more than 100 key industry–university–research cooperation projects each year, thereby building a robust “integrated ecosystem” for such collaboration. “In line with this strategic direction, we will accelerate the comprehensive, integrated development of technological innovation and industrial innovation, proactively connect with the Jiangsu Regional Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization of National Universities, expedite the full implementation of the ‘Eight Ones’ cooperation framework at the Jiangyin campuses of Nanjing University of Science and Technology and Jiangnan University, leverage the empowering advantages of the Jiangyin–Tsinghua Special Program, the Jiangyin–Southern University of Science and Technology Special Program, and the Yangtze River Delta Innovation and Technology Center of Wuhan University, and continually enhance the brand influence of the ‘Xiake Light’ Innovation Challenge Program. In doing so, we aim to make industry–university–research collaboration more targeted and focused, providing a steady stream of science-and-tech-driven momentum for Jiangyin’s renewed leap forward as a city with an economic scale of RMB 500 billion,” said Liu Zhichao, Deputy Director of the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau. (Pan Yiqing, Zhou Jiansong)